Fort Worth Mooring $17M Lakefront Project

Kennis Ketchum, president of Portfolio Development LLC, is co-developing the 186-unit Villas at Marine Lake with affordable housing pro, Unified Housing Foundation Inc., led by Richard Humphrey. The New York City-based Related Capital Co. and CharterMac have kicked in $14.3 million of debt and equity capital.

Ketchum, undertaking her first affordable project, tells GlobeSt.com that the Dallas-based foundation's executives toured her Blue Lake development in Waxahachie, 40 miles south of the city, "and came to me and asked if I wanted to co-develop. They had the land when they came to me." The acreage, with lake views, was acquired in late December 2003 for slightly more than $1 million from American Realty Trust Inc. in Dallas, according to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the affordable housing overseer.

Ketchum says the crews are prepping the site on the east side of the intersection of Huffines Boulevard and Shadydell Drive off Loop 820, just seven miles from the downtown and six miles from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve. The clubhouse will deliver in August and the entire project in spring 2005.

Related Capital put up $3.9 million in equity for tax credits. CharterMac put up $10.4 million in debt with the purchase of tax-exempt bonds in a 40-year vehicle with a 5.75% interest rate for a 24-month construction period and 6.6% thereafter, according to state documents. The taxable bond component, also a 40-year term and 40-year amortization, carried an 8.5% interest rate.

The units are dedicated to renters earning 60% or less of the area's annual median income, which equates to $36,780 for a family of four. "The property will present a strong price-value opportunity, combining quality housing and superior amenities with affordable rent levels," Justin Ginsberg, Related Capital's executive vice president, said in a press release.

The high-amenity, gated development will include a spa, pool, fitness center, computer training center and unit designs with perks like crown molding, mini-blinds and balconies or patios. Units will range from 680 sf to 1,302 sf, with rents expected to begin at $540 per month.

Ketchum's first-time teaming with Unified Housing weds the 20-year multifamily developer to an owner/manager of 3,400 units of affordable housing units in Texas and another 1,500 units under contract. As with her Blue Lake project, the team consists of Womack + Hampton Architects LLC in Dallas; Texas BBL, a subsidiary of BBL Construction Services Inc. of Albany, NY, as the general contractor; and EnviroDesign of Dallas, landscape architect. The villas' civil engineering was done by Dunaway & Associates of Fort Worth.